North Korea and Vietnam have signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including foreign affairs, defense, and healthcare.
On October 11, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party, Rodong Sinmun, reported that the Agreements on Cooperation in Various Fields between North Korea and Vietnam were signed the previous day at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang.
The signing ceremony was attended by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, along with Vietnamese Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang and Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung.
The report stated that agreements on mutual cooperation were signed in various fields—including the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and health—of both countries, though it did not disclose specific details of the agreements.
Earlier, on October 9, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit in Pyongyang. They pledged to elevate bilateral relations to a new level by cooperating in various sectors, including the economy, culture, sports, tourism, education, healthcare, and information technology. The newly signed agreements likely include specific measures to implement the commitments made during the summit.
On the same day, a bust of President Ho Chi Minh was unveiled at the Vietnamese Embassy in North Korea.
The newspaper reported that the unveiling ceremony took place in the presence of General Secretary Trong, who was visiting North Korea to participate in the 80th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Workers’ Party.
According to the report, General Secretary Trong highlighted the significance of this year, marking the 135th anniversary of President Ho’s birth and the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He expressed a commitment to further strengthen and develop the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and North Korea.
In response, Jo Yong-won, a secretary of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, stated that they pay their highest respects to President Ho, who laid a solid foundation for the friendship between Korea and Vietnam alongside the great Kim Il Sung. He added that it will do the utmost to cherish the friendship between the two parties and peoples, which has entered a new phase, and to carry on this tradition.
General Secretary Trong and Secretary Jo personally cut the unveiling ribbon and removed the cloth covering the bust. The monument features a biography and list of achievements of President Ho inscribed in both Korean and Vietnamese, along with a floral tribute from General Secretary Trong.
North Korea has been actively expanding its diplomatic outreach since last month, following Kim’s attendance at China’s Victory Day celebrations. The regime appears to view Vietnam as a key diplomatic partner in Southeast Asia, signaling a potential shift in its regional strategy.